


An Ace in Time AU

by TiedyedTrickster



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game), 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: (those are the major character death btw), Japanafornia as just another region in the AHIT setting, M/M, and now it's an AU, except I'm me and I started World Building, no ahit characters show up outside of being mentioned, started out as an excuse to draw Phoenix and Miles as snatcher and vanessa (sort of), universe fusion, yet another AU complilation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27638741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiedyedTrickster/pseuds/TiedyedTrickster
Summary: Sometimes you just want to draw Phoenix Wright as a noodle ghost, but you have no self control so you end up designing an entire universe fusion to explain how it could happen.
Relationships: Mitsurugi Reiji | Miles Edgeworth/Naruhodou Ryuuichi | Phoenix Wright
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	1. The Nonsense Begins

Have I ever mentioned that sometimes I get ideas for _really weird_ crossovers/fusions? Because sometimes I do, and they can be inspired by the littlest things, like seeing a character associated with cool colours and fire, another associated with warm colours and ice, and a kid in a top hat. Because those are all things I personally associate with Phoenix, Edgeworth, and Trucy respectively, and… yeah, me tripping over the A Hat in Time fandom was probably always going to end up this way. It was fun doing Phoenix and Edgeworth’s ‘designs’.

Edgeworth is _not_ happy about being the Queen Vanessa of this scenario, btw, and honestly he’s more likely to try and keep people out of his house than trap them there. Also, Phoenix, I know you like blue, but… maybe not the best colour choice in this scenario, just saying.

…Trucy and Hat Kid would probably get along way too well…

This just in, fiery noodle boyfriends give the coziest hugs!

> Because I am the reason I can’t have nice things, I have now poked around with my A Hat In Time/Ace Attorney fusion (…gonna call it An Ace in Time) and considered what Snatcher’s backstory mixed with the disbarment era would look like and.
> 
> Um.
> 
> Yeah, there’s gonna be a couple short, angsty comics in a day or so.
> 
> Plus side, I had fun with them, it’s been awhile since I felt really inspired to draw comics, and doing this means I’m not pouring extra angst into Saturation, so that’s all good, I guess.
> 
> …sorry, Phoenix…
> 
> Also, Apollo, you’re hard to draw. :(

An Ace in Time: proving that no matter how weird, nonsensical, ridiculous, or just plain stupid an idea is, if I like it and you leave me alone with it, I will return in a few hours with at least three pages of lore. I have now figured out how both Phoenix and Miles die in this, how both of them get helped/recover from it, and some ground rules.

Also, for the sake of this AU, Japanafornia is now another zone in the planet Hat Kid’s time pieces got scattered on (if you can have a mafia town then I don’t see why you can’t have a lawyer town, that could even have been where the Prince went to study law so long ago). Hat Kid just didn’t go there because none of her time pieces fell there. Also what happened to Phoenix and Edgeworth is (at least in the Japanafornia section) called ‘manifesting,’ and it happens if you get killed while burdened with an unusually high number of negative emotions, thanks to the fact that magic Is A Thing here.

…I’ve thought about this too much, I’ve never even played A Hat in Time, and I would love to be able to say “Lord help me, I’m back on my bullshit,” but that would imply that I got off of it at some point and that just doesn’t happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I transferring yet ANOTHER of my weird AUs from tumblr to AO3 so it's easier for me to find and in more chronological order? Yes, yes I am.


	2. Edgeworth

Was thinking about Edgeworth in the An Ace in Time AU, here’s what I have for him as far as backstory goes in regards to what’s happening with him up to the point Phoenix becomes a noodle ghost himself:

He died partway through the resolution of the DL-6 resolution case, whether Manfred got to him or someone who felt he had wronged them/their family (justified or not) did, he ended up dying a day or so in, and he was such a mess of emotions at that point that he came back as a vengeful spirit that just… didn’t want anyone near him, go away, they were all _right_ to call him a demon, he’s a mess of terror and self-hate. Phoenix, in a very on-brand move, is the only one who has the courage to approach him and repeats his plea from before, let me defend you. Miles says the only reason Phoenix isn’t afraid is that he has a protective amulet on (the magatama - reveals lies and protects you from evil spirits!). Phoenix promptly hands it off to Maya all, “Nope, I don’t care, I don’t care that you’re dead, I don’t care that you’re all dangerous and scary, you’re innocent and I’m going to prove it.”

And he dang well does (and makes history as the first person to ever defend a vengeful ghost in court (not to mention have said ghost cooperate and behave the entire time), and also the first person to help a vengeful spirit find peace by winning a court case for them).

After this, Edgeworth just… sort of hangs around. He’s a ghost now, so emotions work a little differently - after receiving the closure of that trial and about his father’s death he’s just… not vengeful anymore. He’s at peace. He just hasn’t moved on yet (Maya personally blames Nick, weird stuff always happens around Nick). Sometimes he still helps out at the Prosecutors’ Office (there’s a handful of people there who are of the opinion, ‘Well he didn’t stop being an amazing lawyer just because he _died_ , might as well get his input on this”), usually can be found wandering around the Peoples’ Park - he didn’t get to spend a lot of time outdoors before, so he’s enjoying it now. Also hangs around the Wright & Co office at times (Phoenix and Maya especially encourage this in the summer - ice powers = cold just wafts off of him if he lets it = more effective and cheaper than an air conditioner, just put on some Steel Samurai reruns and he’ll stay put until you turn them off again).

He’s a lot more mellow now, his baseline setting is ‘at peace,’ so he tends to be quite calm (this often just means he’s more likely to give you a sassy look or skeptical snort than verbally roast you unless you did something that’s _really_ worth commenting on). He still hasn’t fully recovered from everything he suffered in life, but from his perspective these things went from “bleeding wounds” to “mostly healed scars” in a matter of moments. The emotional scars are still there, he’s not ready to talk about or deal with their existence yet, but they don’t hurt anymore, so for now he’s mostly enjoying not having to carry all that guilt and pain.

If he’s too badly scared, he’ll freeze _himself_ into the middle of a giant lump of ice - it’s not on purpose, he just does it, can’t hurt him if you can’t get to him!!! …sometimes he’ll also do this when he just doesn’t want to bother with people, nope, not socialing, can’t make me, I’m dead and in a block of ice, so there. How fast the ice melts depends on how much he wants it to - could be a couple minutes, could be a couple hours. Earthquakes are very much an ice-cube-ification trigger.

To the touch, he feels much as he did when alive, just colder. He has no idea why he has a crown as a ghost, this lack of knowledge vaguely annoys him, and frankly he’d rather stick with ‘demon prosecutor’ rather than this new ‘king of prosecutors’ moniker people have come up with, he never even won that award-?!

Most of the places where he’d be prosecuting if he was alive, he’s replaced by Franziska in this world. She prosecutes the cases and Miles just… shows up from time to time when he’s needed. Sometimes it’s to help Fran, sometimes it’s to help Phoenix, occasionally it’s just to judgmentally observe and apply bandaids and frozen compresses after everything’s gone south. He didn’t go to Kurain at first because, dude, these ladies specialize in channeling and banishing spirits - probably not a good place for him, plus he might catch on fire or something just setting foot there. Then Phoenix pulls his dang stunt with the bridge and Miles just… appears at his bedside and it’s like, “Welp, guess I’m here and not on fire, time to help out.” (It turns out that there is literally no law saying a non-vengeful ghost can’t practice law, Maya is so upset she missed all this once Phoenix fills her in).


	3. Phoenix

Okay, I did Miles’s backstory for the An Ace in Time AU, now here’s Phoenix!

He does manage to survive longer than Miles, naturally, all the way through to about the second year of his disbarment, enough time to get _really_ upset with his situation, build up enough self-recrimination, fury and resentment at what was done to him, along with feelings of helpless betrayal, that when he’s unlucky enough to get mugged and it goes… very wrong, he also comes back as a vengeful spirit. Unlike most such people this happens to, however, he actually had his magatama in his pocket at the time and somehow absorbs the spiritual power within it as he manifests as a ghost. This means that he manifested 1) a lot more powerful than such people/beings usually are when this first happens to them and 2) fully in his right mind, no initial burst of rage/panic/terror/whatever, just one minute the world’s going dark, the next he’s a very confused blue noodle. Which… probably the best case scenario for how this could have happened, but still not a great day.

It becomes even less of a great day when he has to go home and break the news to Trucy, as well as give her his magatama, tucked in his wallet (the mugger dropped it and ran off after being confronted by a newly-manifested, potentially pissed-off ghost). It can’t be used to reveal lies anymore, since he absorbed all the charge from it, but it’s still a potent protection against evil/vengeful spirits as it is. Phoenix knows this; it hurts him to touch it now, hence carrying it in the wallet. He gives it to Trucy because he’s genuinely scared he’ll potentially hurt her at some point, either by mistake or because he’s just lost his mind due to being a restless ghost - as long as she has this, he literally can’t hurt her, she’s safe from him and anything like him. (On the plus side, as long as he doesn’t have malicious intent, he can still touch her just fine, even if she’s wearing it (spoilers: the magatama is never necessary to protect Trucy from Phoenix, but they have no way of knowing this will be the case, vengeful ghosts aren’t known for their stability)). Trucy’s presence does have a stabilizing effect on him, helping care for her helps ground him.

He spends the next five years or so noodle-ghosting around, trying to figure out how to prove his own innocence in the hopes that this will let him either move or at least be at peace like Miles is. He stops going by ‘Phoenix Wright’ to people who don’t already know him pretty early on, because he’s just… he’s tired of being Phoenix Wright at this point, he’s tired of being the guy everyone blames for the state the legal system’s currently in. He chooses the name ‘Pianoman’ in a moment of split-second panic, then sticks with it because might as well, even if he still can’t play the piano. He spends most of his time either helping Trucy or doing his best to steal Kristoph’s employees/apprentices from him. He could technically do more - laws don’t apply to him anymore, he’s dead, and he does have these nifty new fire powers - but he high-key doesn’t want to put Maya or Pearl in a position where they’re called in to banish him (telling Maya that he’d come back like this was almost as bad as telling Trucy, he felt miserably ashamed).

Phoenix does start getting a little wilder as time goes on - as a spirit at peace, Miles requires no sustenance, but as a vengeful spirit Phoenix does. He lucks out early on in discovering that animals either have souls or some equivalent that counts, so he hangs around Peoples’ Park and scavenges whenever he’s hungry - doesn’t even have to do very much, animals and birds hunt each other daily, all he has to do is pay attention. It’s better than hunting humans, but the combination of that and the levels of self denial he’s reaching means he’s not in a good place when he first runs into Apollo. Picture hobo!Phoenix on a near constant sugar high unless he’s around Trucy or one of his friends.

Meeting Apollo in this AU isn’t about getting himself a not-guilty to murder thing, since that doesn’t happen, so much as, “Hey, that’s Kristoph’s _favorite_ new hire - mine now, gonna ruin Kristoph’s day.” And he manages to sweet-talk the kid into signing on with him instead (Apollo wonders to this day how he managed that). The first few months of the timeline in AA:AJ go relatively similarly, with the twist that ‘the Pianoman’ is constantly mocking Apollo’s hero worship of the deceased Phoenix Wright, until Apollo finally snaps at him, and Phoenix snaps as well for a few moments and then just… breaks down and reveals that he is, in fact, Phoenix, and he just doesn’t _get_ why Apollo _cares_ about him, why he still _respects_ him, when no one he didn’t personally know or help in life does. This doesn’t get him to the state of ‘at peace’ he seeks, but it does start the healing process for Phoenix - he gets less manic and self-defacing and starts actually teaching Apollo what he knows, lets him in on what he’s learned about Kristoph and the plans to implement the jurist system (plans for which are still on, since Phoenix wasn’t the only person behind that, and there was no reason to stop the process when he died because it was still a really good idea). Apollo is the one to finally bring Kristoph to justice, leading the first test of the jurist system in the process, with Trucy as his aid and Phoenix watching in the gallery (they’ll permit him and Miles in the courthouse, but Phoenix can only watch, since he’s still vengeful).

Apollo successfully achieves a not guilty verdict, clearing Phoenix’s name and bringing him peace, much as Phoenix did for Miles with DL-6. Again, as with Miles, Phoenix remains, though while no one knows why Miles is still around (if he knows he isn’t telling), Phoenix claims he needs to keep an eye on Trucy and his protege.

As Miles has ice powers, Phoenix has fire, and is very warm and cozy to the touch. This is enhanced by the fact that he’s also kind of soft and furry in his ‘ghostly’ form; it’s short fur, though, not even a centimeter long. Phoenix also is very good at controlling his size, but while Miles can easily go between his ghostly form and one that more closely resembles how he looked while alive, Phoenix has a hard time taking and maintaining his more ‘human’ form, it’s easier to just make small changes to his ghostly one, like having his tie show up or how his hair appears. The group theorizes that this is because Miles spent only a couple days as a truly vengeful spirit in comparison to Phoenix’s several years, but there’s not much evidence one way or the other.


	4. World-building 1

  


Apollo’s bracelet is useless - can’t detect a lie if the person talking believes they’re telling the truth. (Snatcher!Phoenix has some issues, dying while trying to prove your innocence and coming back as an angry ghost can do that to a guy.)

Also, he still can’t play the piano, he had to come up with a pseudonym on the spot and it was the first thing he could think of.

onceuponymous asked:

AHIT Apollo to Trucy: "What the hell does the boss have against Phoenix Wright?" / Trucy: 🤐

greentrickster answered:

 **Trucy:** “I dunno, what does everyone else in the city have against him? Why do _you_ like him? Not many people do, and his reputation was terrible by the end. Is that what you want? To be like him? Or to just be a corrupt lawyer and not get caught?”

 **Apollo:** “So you don’t like him either?”

 **Trucy:** “If you say so.”

 **Apollo:** (realizes an hour later that she never actually stated an opinion on the matter, just one fact and some leading questions)

Apollo learns not to ask Trucy about things she doesn’t feel like talking about pretty darn fast - all he ever gets back are either riddles, questions that feel weirdly pointed, or, if Pianoman is listening, more chores. Trucy’s even better at double-talk than her dad (and how does she have a vengeful ghost as her father, how does that even work??? Apollo is so confused).

(Trucy generally uses her mom’s maiden name, Gramarye, at this point - Wright is still her legal name, but like heck she’s blowing her dad’s cover if he doesn’t want people knowing what happened to him.)

.

…I wonder what would happen if Maya or Pearl tried to channel the Snatcher. I mean, he’s a ghost, no reason they shouldn’t be able to, but… what even would happen? Would they look like the Prince? Dang, and spirits being channeled in AA can only remember their lives up to the moment of their death and any subsequent channelings… that could lead to some very strange conversations, if people were expecting a channeled Snatcher and suddenly got a channeled Prince. And what would happen afterwards? Would Snatcher remember what happened while he was being channeled or does the door close both ways, can’t remember what you were doing while dead when you’re channeled, can’t remember what happened while you were channeled when it stops again. I have no idea, but now I’m curious.

.

…I’m now picturing Trucy making her way to Subcon Forest in the An Ace in Time AU to get inspiration for a spooky new magic act (because, let’s face it… she would, and now that she’s got this nifty-keen protective charm to keep her safe from malicious spirits and stuff, why wouldn’t she?), running into a Subconite for the first time, and going, “Oh my gosh… you’re _adorable_!!!”

A quick exchange of exactly where the Subconites’ bodies come from, and when Snatcher finally shows up to shoo her away (can’t get at her soul with the magatama on, probably too sensible to sign a contract if she came here wearing one, “get off my dang lawn, kid, I’ve got no business with you”), Trucy shoves the captured Subconite in his face and goes “Show me how to make one! But, you know, without the soul inside!”

And Snatcher takes one look at her, at this small magician who actually looks _really similar_ to Hat Kid and nopes out. He’s got one menace in a top hat to deal with already, he doesn’t need _two_.

(Without the magatama, Trucy would probably be almost no threat to Snatcher - she’s not an alien with time magic after all - beyond the fact that she’s very clever. And he could still cause her problems even with it on, it doesn’t stop him throwing stuff at her, people who show up wearing strong amulets like the magatama just generally aren’t worth his time, too much effort. Given time, he’d probably figure out pretty quickly that, as long as he’s not trying to hurt her, it’s no effort at all to just pick her up and deposit her well outside his forest, but, like… the last kid who looked like this that showed up is now his contractually-obligated BFF, he doesn’t need more of those.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over on tumblr collabwithmyself did some awesome comics for this AU, which you can see [here](https://greentrickster.tumblr.com/post/614450537114533888/i-dont-know-a-thing-about-a-hat-in-time-but-im) and [here](https://greentrickster.tumblr.com/post/614480412137422848/h-help-i-cant-stop-help-me-im-invested)!


	5. World-building 2

To the right we have an approximate average height comparison, including child Trucy and normal Apollo

Since this whole AU started out as nothing more than wanting to draw Phoenix and Edgeworth as A Hat in Time ghosts, specifically Snacter!Phoenix and non-evil-Vanessa!Edgeworth (both based purely on colour themes and elemental associations), there was literally no reason not to make Phoenix look very visually similar to Snatcher at first. It was just one drawing, it wasn’t a problem, I should know better by now.

Since this is now a full-blown AU where these characters exist in the same world, I figured it was time to start figuring out some of the differences between them. In pretty much every corner when it comes to ‘being a ghost’ and ‘using powers that come with being a ghost,’ Snatcher naturally has Phoenix beat - he’s older, stronger, more experienced. Phoenix’s one major claim-to-fame ghost-wise is that Phoenix can make his pupils and irises visible if he wants, which is always a bit of a shock to people seeing him do so for the first time.

It is worth noting (since it’s not hugely clear in my art style), Phoenix is also still a lot more human-shaped from his upper torso up, though his arms go noodly pretty fast, versus Snatcher who is just full-on noodle unless he’s shape-shifting.

.

Since my Ace Attorney/A Hat in Time fusion AU is getting attention again, I figure I might as well post this bit I had for it but never shared:

Checking for monsters under Trucy’s bed is how they find out that Phoenix can 1) fit under there and 2) travel between beneath-bed spaces (because AHiT ghosts with weird powers ftw).

“Daddy, check under my bed for monsters!” 

“Trucy, there aren’t any monsters under your bed, you made a deal with their boss after you beat him at poker.” (it’s an AA AHiT fusion, so there’s AHiT elements still) 

“Check anyway!” 

“Fine, but I’m pretty sure my head isn’t even going to-” (sticks head under bed) “…fit. Huh. I just-” (floomps entire self under bed, only eyes show as he looks back at Trucy) “Huh. Well, um. No monsters under your bed. Except me, I guess. …though I can see why they’d want to be, it’s surprisingly cozy under here.” 

“Okay, thanks, Daddy – you can come out now.” 

“…no thank-you.”

“DADDY!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll just go to my own-” (vanishes)

And after a moment’s panicking on Trucy’s part (because her daddy just _disappeared_ and he’s a ghost, who _knows_ what happened to him), Phoenix shouts from his room, then shows up at the doorway of her room again to reassure her that he’s okay and still here.

Phoenix can fit under any bed, and also travel from beneath one to another. He’s not quite sure how he does this, he just does, but he has to either be familiar with the bed or know the name of the bed’s owner for it to work. They put a doll’s bed or a very small one in his room in the Agency specifically so that he can get from their apartment to work easily without freaking people out when he wants to avoid that. 

For some reason Trucy’s top hat is also connected to this ‘network’ (she says it’s because magicians can pull anything out of their hats). He will not appear through or be pulled from those dang magic bloomers, though, he refuses.


	6. Revealed

“You- _you’re_ Phoenix Wright?!” The words pop out of Apollo’s mouth involuntarily, and the ghost stares at him a moment, then laughs, a broken sound as glowing yellow tears spill over to slide down his cheeks.

“You really didn’t know, did you, kid? There were times I was _so sure_ you were just- but you really didn’t know…” he laughs, a harsh, broken sound, then flings his arms out wide, “Yup, that’s me, Phoenix Wright, in the ectoplasm, or whatever it is I am now! Guess it goes to show you should never meet your heroes, right? We’re never as good as you want us to be. You wanted a role model, but all you got was a ghost who was only interested in you because of who your old boss was – having a great day today, aren’t you?”

And there’s no doubt about it, that’s classic Pianoman snark all right, this is definitely his boss of two months, but now that he knows… he can hear the voice that he used to listen to for _hours_ in the courtrooms in there, too. And Pianoman has always been huge and somewhat terrifying, a partially feral vengeful spirit that takes up at least half of any space he’s in, but now, even though he’s still a bit taller than Apollo, even though he’s spreading himself out, using his size to full effect, he still looks… so much smaller than he usually does. The grand mask is stripped away, and with its removal it’s like something has clicked into place in Apollo’s head, all the little twitches and tells clearly visible.

But, even if that hadn’t been the case, even if he hadn’t felt his bracelet tightening around his wrist, seen all the little fidgets suddenly for the nervous ticks they truly are, Apollo would still have known something was wrong. Because, for all his bravado, the ghost is still crying, firefly yellow tears streaking down blue cheeks.

“…who did this to you? Why- you _were_ a great man. You helped so many people,” Apollo shakes his head, then does the one thing he’s never done – he takes a confident step towards his ghostly boss, “I don’t believe you forged that evidence, I never have and I never will. That sort of thing wasn’t your style. You think I didn’t _know_ you were bluffing your way through half your trials? Of course I knew, _everyone_ knew… but you never lied, not really. Not when you were confronted about it. And you never wanted anything but for the innocent to go free and the guilty to go to jail – I remember what happened in the Engarde trial, even if you’ve forgotten. Maybe you’re a liar, and you’re _definitely_ a crumby boss, but you’re a liar who really _believed_ in the truth and you’re not a forger!”

And Phoenix Wright shrinks from him, folds up on himself, fear and confusion warring in his eyes. “What? No, no, you’re not supposed to- how can you still-” he shakes his head, hands rising to clutch his hair-

The only warning is the sudden chill in the air, and Apollo barely has time to glance behind him before the second ghost sweeps past, a shadow lit with glowing pink eyes and edges, the ghost from the park, the Demon Prosecutor, Miles Edgeworth. For a moment, Apollo is terrified that he’s managed to attract the ire of the unusually calm spirit, but Edgeworth spares not a glance at him, all his attention focused on the other ghost as his form blurs and shrinks to become a shadowy mirror of how he had looked in life. “I am here, Phoenix.”

“Miles?” Wright turns to him, expression desperate, then flings himself into the other’s arms, “Miles, he knows, he knows now, and- he- no one believed in me, Miles, he was just a _kid_ when it all happened, so how come- h-how come he can see what they didn’t…? He’s not _supposed_ to- _Ngh_ -!” he shakes hard for a moment, his size unchanging but his form reverting back into the one he’s worn since he first cornered Apollo in that alleyway. Wright’s only response is to loop his tail around Edgeworth’s waist and cling tighter, not bothering with words anymore.

The other ghost either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care, simply holds him until the shaking stops, the tears slow. Finally, Wright untangles from him, turns back to Apollo and, with a wince, regains his more human form.

“…it’s not easy for you to look like that, is it?” It’s strange, a part of him knows that the being before him is no less dangerous than his was before this conversation began, but it’s like the fear that’s been licking Apollo’s heels since they met has just… melted away, leaving confusion, frustration, and a righteous anger in its place, “Is it because of how you got this way?”

Wright shakes his head, “No, it’s- honestly, I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to look… like this. I manifested the way I usually look.” He stares down at his own hands, then clenches them, turns his gaze back to Apollo (and it’s so weird to look him in the eye like this, Apollo’s never heard of any sort of ghost with pupils of any sort before). “There’s no- no one ‘made me this way’ expect the usual things that make someone come back vengeful, Apollo. I was angry and frustrated and hurting, more than I even knew myself.

“I don’t know why you think I’m so great, and now you know who I am it’s probably not a great idea to hang around. I’m just a vengeful spirit who’s getting more feral every year from eating animal souls in the park, because I’m not willing to go after other people. Eventually I’m probably just going to forget who I was and have to be banished.”

There’s a- a _defeat_ in his eyes, in his posture, and no, that can’t be all there is, “Isn’t there any other way?”

Wright shrugs, glances at Edgeworth. “There’s always the chance that I could find peace, I guess, but that’s… feeling less and less likely as time goes on. This… isn’t a problem I can really solve as a ghost. Sorry, Apollo. You’re a good kid after all, I guess; I should never have gotten you mixed up in all this.”

And that’s… that’s just… no.

No, it can’t end like this.

Apollo won’t _let it_ end like this. “Then let me help you! Someone set you up to get disbarred, and I bet you know who. If you actually worked _with_ me instead of driving me crazy, I bet I could get to the bottom of this, and there’s precedent for defending vengeful spirits in court. Heck,” he gestures at Edgeworth, “He’s standing right there! And _you’re_ the one who helped him, Mr. Wright!” squaring his shoulders, Apollo stands up to his full height, unimpressive as it might be, plucking his badge from his lapel and holding it before him. “I’m a defense attorney, Mr. Wright – let me defend you!”

For a moment, the ghost merely stares, eyes shocked, jaw slightly slack. Then he laughs, not the mocking one Apollo is familiar with or the broken one from earlier, but something that sounds closer to baffled disbelief mixed with hope, even as he loses his grip on his human form again. “Of all the- you know what? Okay. Yes, you’ve got yourself a client, Mr. Justice,” and he holds out a hand to shake with possibly the first real smile he’s ever directed at Apollo, “I hope you’ve got that notebook of yours ready, because there’s a lot you’ll need to know…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find a super-cool re-imagining of the top comic (which actually pushed me to write the scene that followed it) by collabwithmyself [here](https://greentrickster.tumblr.com/post/614480840948318208/okay-last-one-i-swear-my-heart-was-just-hurting)!


	7. Before and After

Before and after his confrontation with Apollo.

 **Before:** was just done with everything, picture hobo!Phoenix’s attitude on a constant sugar high mixed with a huge helping of self denial. He didn’t want to be himself anymore and, hey, perfect opportunity to do just that! Went by the name ‘Pianoman’ because it was the first thing he could think of when he was asked (still can’t play the piano). Didn’t actually cause too much trouble in general, didn’t want to put Maya in the position where she had to come banish him or something.

 **After:** Starting to actually deal with what’s happened to him, is going by his real name again and allowing himself to look a bit more himself - hair silhouette of his proper spikes, wearing a tie, calmer expressions. Has a hard time holding his human form for extended periods, changing size is easier for him. He tended to stay quite large as Pianoman because it felt safer, now he’s kinda big, but going for a somewhat less intimidating look. Also… don’t tell anyone, but he actually really likes being a noodle ghost, really fun levels of flexibility, zero back pain, 10/10 would recommend!


	8. Finding Peace

Yeah, the chapter about Phoenix in this universe mentions that this happens, but I figured after everything that’s happened, you guys deserved to see it. Phoenix's fangs disappearing as of panel three is a purposeful choice, btw, not me forgetting to draw them. ;)


End file.
